CHICAGO – The UIC women’s gymnastics team prepares for two meets in three days as it heads to Normal, Ill., to take on Illinois State, No. 14 Illinois and Northern Illinois in the Illinois Classic at Horton Field House on Friday at 7 p.m. CT before making its way to Iowa City, Iowa, to face off against Iowa inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The Flames return to competition after taking a conference win over Texas Woman’s at the Physical Education Building on Feb. 14. UIC produced its second-best score of the season with 193.175 to defeat the Pioneers’ 193.100. Sophomore Alexandra Vedenin won on vault (9.850) and senior Catherine Dion took first on floor (9.825), while sophomore Kerensa Mitchell finished with a team-high 9.800 on beam for third and Dion took the Flames highest score on bars with 9.825 for second.

Friday’s meet marks the fourth quad-meet of the season for UIC and the second time the Flames have faced the Redbirds. Illinois leads all competing teams in the rankings at No. 14 with an average score of 195.900, followed by Northern Illinois at No. 49 with 192.845, UIC at No. 52 with 191.800 and Illinois State at No. 61 with 189.957. The Fighting Illini’s Sunny Kato is the lone competitor in the top 20 of any event as she is positioned at No. 12 on beam with a 9.858 average.

Iowa has yet to collect a win this season and brings a 0-7 record into competition on Sunday while at No. 45 in the rankings with a 193.189 average. In their meet last season, the Flames fell to the Hawkeyes (195.875) in addition to Michigan State (194.850) after scoring 193.225.